10 John Cena Matches You Should Watch Again

You CAN see him, so get on the Network and give these battles a second look.

john cena cm punk
WWE.com

Exploding back onto WWE screens on Smackdown Live this week, John Cena forcefully asserted that he has much still to offer, then made good on his word with a grandstand World Title challenge to AJ Styles for the 2017 Royal Rumble.

With enough credit in his account to demand such a thing, it's also telling that Cena seems to have finally silenced any last naysayers of his talent - those supporters who still viewed him as the overpushed superman instead of the reliable workhorse he became.

Admittedly, Cena did spend over a decade as the bonafide face of WWE, with more time paid to his adventures than just about anybody on the roster.

However, that really became the only stick left to beat the 'Doctor of Thuganomics' with.

Years and years (and years) of epic matches had long dispelled the myths about his perceived in-ring inability, with countless contests dazzling enormous audiences as WWE grew to monolithic status under his stewardship.

But away from the glitz and glamour of a Wrestlemania or Summerslam classic, Cena has had more than his share of forgotten blockbusters that warrant another look the next time you're scraping around the vast archives of the WWE Network.

In preparation for his title match comeback in January, here are 10 John Cena Matches You Need to Watch Again.

10. Vs Neville - WWE Raw 2015

john cena cm punk
WWE.com

Working as blueprints of sorts for what would become Cena's archetypal US Title Open Challenge match, this star-making clash early in the run did much to promote Raw's hot new NXT graduate.

Giving Neville a base for his spellbinding flips and flights, the match was an exquisite advert for the newcomer and an incredibly unselfish display from a Cena that had willingly withdrawn himself from the main event chase to remind people what a first-rate wrestler he was (excluding that bloody awful springboard stunner, which for the most part, thankfully seems shelved).

Bursting with legitimately tense nearfalls, Cena allowed himself to look completely overmatched at times, unable to put 'The Man That Gravity Forgot' away and looking under serious threat from some of Neville's wide array of moves and strikes.

'The Jumping Geordie' didn't have to suffer for his art too, actually hitting his Red Arrow finisher on Cena in what looked to be the finish, before Rusev would run-in and attack both men.

As a match, it was clinically excellent, and as a showcase for a new talent, Cena couldn't have given more to the cause.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 30 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz", Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 50,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett